Saturday, January 6, 2007

the flip side of gear

Is maintaining it.

It is -16 degrees here this morning. Brian has gone up to Crested Butte to race in the downhill Derby skate ski event. I've said - yeah no thanks and shall stay right here untill the temp rises to somewhere above zero.

Brian has been prepping his bike for some upcoming winter triathlons www.5430sports.com He has fat, meaty tires on them a 2.6 on the front and a 2.5 on the rear. I used them last week and rode them in the snow. Not wanting to flat I rode them with 23 psi and they where Rad! Floaty and grippy and FUN!

I am also playing with the set up of my hardtail... as I'm taking it to NZ . We've put a Reba fork on the front with 100mm of travel instead of the 80mm Sid fork I'd been using. Its raised my position though and meant having to drop the handlebar position down.

This side of riding a bike is something I'm not so into... at all....yet it makes Brian annoyed if its loaded onto him. So, I spent yesterday morning b4 work undoing all the stuff on the handlebar and transferring it over to a new flat bar and lower stem. The new bar is a Bontrager Big sweep bar that is flat but has 12 degrees of sweep, so it feels much like the riser bar I've been using.

Fueled by coffee I'd drunk while 'working' I had to get out and try it. Brian was jonsing too so he came with. It was snowing and blowing and only 20 degrees, but theres something appealing about riding when it seems silly and the tires rocked. I could plow plough through stuff you'd never think you'd make and get through. I did have my first crash of the year, in town on ice... bike went one way and me the other and my neck is stiff today... but It was so great to be out there.

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About Us

I'm Jenny. Professional cyclist, Xterra triathlete, and owner of Jenny Smith Coaching. www.jennysmithcoaching.com specializes in personalized coaching for cycling, triathlon and running. A West Coaster from New Zealand I now call Gunnison, Colorado home. My husband Brian and I live with our dog Max.